Molagapudi / Molagacobre pudi/Spicy Chutney Powder

Molagapudi another excellent recipe by my mom. Tastes amazing with dosa, idli, chappathi and bread. Very easy to make, and also the shelf life is long so can be made in large quantity and stored in air tight containers and can be kept in the freezer.

Ingredients:

Sesame seeds 1/4 cup

Urad dal 1 cup

Chana dal 1 cup

Red chillies 15-20 (or to taste)

Hing 1 tsp

Oil for sauteing

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Roast sesame seeds seperately without adding oil and set aside.

2. Add 1 sp of oil, put 1/2 sp hing , add chana dal & red chillies together and fry till golden brown. Once done set aside.

3. Again take 1 sp of oil, put the remaining hing and add urad dal and fry till golden brown.

4. Once they cool down. First grind sesame seeds and set aside.

5. Then add salt and grind urad dal, chana dal and red chillies together once powdered add sesame powder to it and pulse it 2 to 3 times. Store in air tight container.

Another way of doing this is using coconut powder and tamarind. This also has a long shelf life and can be stored in an air tight container and kept in the freezer for long.

Ingredients:

Dry Coconut powder (or dry coconut slices) 1 1/4 cup

Urad dal 1 cup

Chana dal 1 cup

Red chillies 15-20 (or to taste) Hing 1 tsp

Tamarind (lemon size) Oil for sauteing Salt to taste Method: 1. In a kadaai just fry coconut powder for a few seconds it should just get warm and set aside.

2. Then add tamarind pieces and for sometime and set aside once they cool down they turn crisp.

3. Add 1 sp of oil, put 1/2 sp hing , add chana dal & red chillies together and fry till golden brown. Once done set aside. 4. Again take 1 sp of oil, put the remaining hing and add urad dal and fry till golden brown. 5. Once they cool down, add salt and grind urad dal, chana dal, tamarind and red chillies together once powdered add coconut powder to it and pulse it 2 to 3 times. Store in air tight container.

Godu Saaru/Meelagu Rasam/Pepper Rasam

This recipe is passed on to me by my mother. My mom is a phenomenal cook. She has immense passion for cooking; she comes across a new recipe she has to come home and try it immediately. She is a great inspiration and at this age she has the energy to make all kinds of powders and chutneys for me. This recipe is one of my favorites.My mom makes this when we are down with fever or cold or when the weather is chilly. One glass of rasam (this is not brandy :-)) will releive you of your cold. My mom makes this in a very special vessel called "Seesthapathare". There is no hard and fast rule that this rasam has to be made in this particular vessel, it tastes good anyways. In south India most of the households will have this vessel. There is a different kind of vessel for sambar and rasam. And if made in these vessels it has an authentic taste to it. The vessel already contains asatefodia (hing) in it. The vessel is very expensive; a small vessel costs about Rs.800. If left on a flame for long, it melts off.

Now coming back to the recipe. Below are the ingredients.














Ingredients:
1 Large tomato or 2 small tomatoes
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Peppercorns
1 tbsp Toor Dal
1 tsp Tamarind Paste (or half lemon size tamarind soak in water and extract the juice)
3-4 Curry Leaves
Pinch of haldi
Little hing
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Seasoning:
Mustard Seeds
Cumin Seeds
Ghee

Method:
1. In a vessel add diced tomatoes, curry leaves, tamarind paste (or juice), turmeric, hing and salt. Fill 3/4 of vessel with water and keep on low flame and allow it to slowly boil. 2. Grind peppercorns, toor dal and cumin to a fine powder. No need to roast this. 3. Once nicely boiled, add the powder and mix nicely make sure there are no lumps, add water till the brim, add coriander leaves and boil nicely for 5 mins. 4. Once done take ghee in a small kadaai, add mustard seeds and cumin and pour on the rasam. 5. Garnish with coriander leaves.